The consultants will present their findings and key recommendations from the Rental Housing Study to the County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee in July.

The study is the culmination of a comprehensive, two-year effort to analyze countywide and subarea rental housing data to better understand the characteristics of renter households and units. Interviews with public and private sector housing industry representatives, a national scan of best housing practices, a review of existing county policies and a detailed financial feasibility analysis were all part of the research process. In addition, an advisory committee of public and private sector experts provided direction and feedback throughout the study.

Rental housing accounts for about 30 percent of the housing supply in Montgomery County and is concentrated around Metrorail lines and employment centers. Most of the county’s supply consists of older units, with only 14 percent of rental units constructed since 2000 (55 percent were built prior to 1980).

The study reveals that the supply of rental units is unbalanced at both the lowest and highest ends of the housing market. The market is short about 20,000 rental units for households earning less than 30 percent of area median income, which is about $107,000. As a result, 80 percent of households earning less than 30 percent of area median income are cost-burdened.

Key Recommendations from Rental Housing Study

The consultants developed a menu of tools and policies for the County to consider with the aim of preserving existing rental housing, producing new rental units, better meeting specific housing needs and generating additional financial resources. The tools are grouped into the following four categories:

-Build more flexibility into the MPDU program to tailor the percentage of affordable units to the specific community.

-Require a greater percentage of income-controlled units.

-Calculate MPDU requirements based on floor area ratio (FAR) rather than number of units.

-Create a menu of income targets and set-aside percentages from which developers can choose.

-In certain instances, allow developers to build affordable units on alternative sites within the same planning area with approval from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Recommendations proposing modifications to land use and zoning tools:

-Convert underutilized buildings, including schools and offices, into affordable housing.

-Revise current density bonus programs to reflect development costs and economic conditions more accurately.

-Expand use of land owned by the government and non-profits for affordable units.

-Conduct a review of parking requirements, including for MPDUs.

Recommendations expanding preservation strategies:

-Continue the county’s right of first refusal program and identify new funding sources to preserve affordable housing.

-Allow density to be shifted from one part of a site with an existing affordable multifamily rental building(s) to another part of that site in exchange for a portion of the existing affordable housing to be preserved as part of the redevelopment.

-Provide credit counseling for income-qualified households to make them more creditworthy tenants.